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Editing your Architectural Travel Film

Last week we covered tips on making a travel film, now we will cover how to edit all those short video clips and make a travel film. Before you get a head of yourself and just dive into making your travel movie the following are some tips to ensure your movie is as interesting to others as it is to you.

Likely you have all the software you need already on your computer. Software such as iMovie (Mac Computers) and Windows Movie (PC Computers) will stich together individual videos, add music or other sounds and add credits. Open Shot and Light Works are alternate software options. However consider the following tips before you get started.

Plan

Plan your movie by choosing the theme. There are a number of themes or methods to structure your movie for example your movie can be about one building and it can be set up to duplicate your experience or it can be a compilation of projects in the same city or by the same architect. You could make a series of short movies, each focusing on a different building typology. A long movie can be short snap shots of each building you visited in chronological order. The themes are endless, be creative.

Timeline / Storyboard

Make a timeline and/or storyboard. This sounds cumbersome and overkill however it can be a really basic doodle or point form notes but having a plan will save time in the long run and ensure you are making a concise movie that tells a story and is not just random video clips stitched together.

Movie Length

Determine how long your movie will be before you start. It is advisable to try and keep it under five minutes if you want to send and share your movie online so the file size is still manageable. Deciding the length of the movie also helps know how much to edit and whether you have enough video footage.

Music

Trying adding music to your movie, perhaps a song from the region you traveled or a song you listened to while traveling. Another possibility is to narrate the movie yourself so you are able to speak to the footage with stories or interesting facts. This is another reason why determining the movie length is coordinated to a certain song or narrative.

Narrate

If you like the idea of narrating you can take it a step further and add yourself to the movie by adding clips of yourself explaining the projects or sharing a story of your adventure between your travel footage. This is a great way to be included in the movie since you are normally behind the camera.

Edit

Edit your travel videos. In film production there is a “10 second rule” which means that every 10 seconds something interesting should happen. Any shaky or blurry footage should be cut out and scenes that are boring should be reduced. Try to keep the video concise and interesting for your viewers.

Compress

To make your movie ready to share on social media for a DVD, for your travel blog or sharing it online compress your movie file and name it clearly.

Practice Practice Practice

Lastly, things always look easier than they are so practice.

Here is my first attempt at making a travel film, I definitely need more practice.